Dreamscape
by peanut2lb
Summary: Clint is captured by a Jinn and pulled into an alternative universe. Clint/Natasha and the rest of the Avenger team.
1. Chapter 1

Far beneath the city, the archer known as Hawkeye lay unconscious on a bed made of concrete. His wrists bound by magical red glowing restraints and his head pillowed by hard slab.

Above him stood a mystical creature known as Jinn; the Jinn had taken on a human form. Tall, slender, bald and covered with an assortment of tattoos, the Jinn smiled down upon his prey. Capturing an S.H.E.I.L.D agent had been no easy task but never the less it had been the wish of his master, Dr. Artemus Berman. It was a known fact that Berman held close ties with HYDRA. If in fact HYDRA found him extremely valuable. Berman had found a way to trap his enemies in dream like state and he had chosen Clint Barton to be his first official test subject.

"So you have the archer?" Berman appeared behind the Jinn, an eager smile on his face. The Jinn turned offering the doctor his palm.

The doctor smiled again and reached into his pocket, retrieving a miniature candy bar. As folklore had it, Jinns loved sweets.

"Has the transition process begun?" Berman asked watching the Jinn devour the candy.

The Jinn nodded and directed the Doctors attention to the I.V. port that had been placed in Clint's neck. The I.V. port would be used to drain the archer's blood which in time would be studied and then used to create an army of super assassin's, all sporting abilities similar to Clint's'.

"Excellent!" Berman hissed as he made his way about the Jinn to his captive. "I trust that he is off somewhere reliving his greatest adventures?" Legend stated that Jinn had the power to move objects and living creatures into a parallel universe, one of which their captives could not escape. Berman, the bastard hoped to make a mint off of it.

Again, the Jinn smiled and extended his hand, this time touching the center of Clint's forehead.

* * *

**Dream World**

The sound of the calliope floated through the air filling Clint's mind with a sense of peace. It had been a long time since the archer had stepped foot in a travelling circus. Much to his surprise it still felt like home.

Gazing around, Clint eyes drank in all of the familiar sights. It was exactly as he remembered it.

"Hey, you are going to show me the sights here or what?' The sound of Natasha's voice broke Clint from his trance. She was standing in front of him, dressed in her customary black only this time it was a little less uniformed. A form fitting black t-shirt, and black leather pants perfectly blended into her knee high boots.

"Sure," Clint smiled as she reached for his hand.

* * *

**S.H.E.I.L.D.**

The team sat in the conference room gazing at an empty chair, the chair that had been designated for Clint. The conference call from Fury ordering them to assemble had come in thirty minutes ago. Every member of the team was present, save for one.

"He should really be here by now," Natasha commented her voice filled with worry. It wasn't like her partner to be late.

"Maybe he got caught in something," Bruce offered.

Tony pulled his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose so that his eyes were visible, "something or someone?"

"Must you always be so crass?" Steve interjected making it clear to everyone that Tony's comment was offensive.

"Relax, Captain Johnny Be Good, I only meant that he could be caught up in a mission."

"No, you didn't," Bruce countered as Natasha tossed them all a heated glare.

"Something's wrong, I can feel it. Clint would never miss a call from Fury."

"You're Damn Right!" Fury entered the room with Hawkeye's empty quiver in hand. "Does someone want to tell me how in the hell this ended up in the middle of Central Park!"

All present fell silent as Fury tossed the empty blood stained quiver onto the table.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks for the great reviews and alerts!

**Chapter 2**

Natasha felt a pit form in her stomach as she looked at the bloodied quiver. It wasn't like Clint to give up his quiver without a fight and judging from the amount of blood, fight he did. Judging from the location of the blood on the leather, it stood to reason that the archer had taken some sort of wound to the upper chest near the right shoulder. Impaled maybe? God, she hoped not.

"That's a lot of blood," Tony said verbalizing everyone's thoughts. "However it got there it had to hurt. Somebody had to lose a lung or-"

"We get the point," Fury returned with his one eye glaring at Tony.

"Are we sure it's Barton's?" Steve looked Fury as Agent Hill appeared.

"Agent Hill, take the quiver to the lab and wait for the results. As soon as they come in I want to be notified."

"Yes Sir," Hill quickly scooped up the quiver and placed it in a plastic container before scurrying off to the lab.

"Who found it and where are the projectiles?" Natasha asked dryly. It was no secret that Clint's arrows were specially designed with explosives and other surprises. In the wrong hands they could easily wipe out a small community of people.

"One question at a time," Fury palmed the table. "The quiver was sent to me by special messenger, who was directed to pick it up at Belvedere Castle in Central Park. Somebody wants to send us a message."

"Could it be a ransom? Maybe someone wants to trade?" Steve asked.

"We don't know yet," Fury stood upright. "We've activated the homing device in Agent Barton's vest in hopes of pinpointing his exact location but so far nothing has come up."

Once again, the room fell silent as the team exchanged fearful glances. No signal could only mean one of two things; either Clint was no longer part of this world or he was being held captive in a cloaked location.

Finally Natasha broke the silence and asked Thor to take her to the spot where the quiver had been found. It stood to reason, that if whoever had Clint left it there for them to find that other clues would be waiting as well.

Natasha moved closer to Thor so that the God of Thunder could surround her with his free arm before lifting up his hammer. In an instant they were standing in front of the Castle where Clint's quiver had been found. It was a good thing that it was Tuesday and that the Castle was closed to tourists. This would give the two Avengers a chance to look around without drawing attention to themselves.

Natasha walked over to the historical marker and glanced around before making her way over to the white gazebo. Thor immediately followed, watching her as she crossed her arms over her chest and began to stare pensively at the blood stained ground.

"He was here," Natasha said raising her chin to rocky cliff side just above the castle. "That alcove up there is one of many nests he has in the city. It stands to reason that Clint was involved in some sort of altercation."

"Perhaps, he was shot." Thor added lightly, "In which case, he could have lost the quiver causing it to land here."

His vest is armor proof. Ordinary weapons cannot penetrate it."

"But one of his arrows can."

* * *

**Dream World**

"It's kind of ironic that Fury sent us here, isn't?" Natasha asked as she and Clint walked through the midway towards the Big Top.

"Just little," Since becoming a member of S.H.E.I.L.D., Clint avoided travelling carnivals and anything that even remotely resembled a circus, too many memories. Like Natasha, his past was painted red. Everything about his persona had begun with the circus. It was where he had met and trained with the Swordsman, who eventually betrayed him and left him for dead.

"Can you handle it?" Natasha asked stepping in front of him.

"I can handle it. It's actually quite peaceful here."

Natasha reached up and touched his cheek. "You look like you could use some normalcy. We've been hitting it pretty hard lately."

Clint closed his eyes enjoying the warmth of her hand against his skin. There was something intoxicating about it. In fact, it was almost addictive.

_"Keep walking," the Jinn's voice whispered on the wind._

Taking her hand into his, Clint smiled at her mischievously. "Tasha, we need to find the target and get out of here." Together they continued down the midway until they spotted a fortune teller; a bald man with a body full of tattoos and green tinted skin.

_The Jinn in disguise._

Clint stopped abruptly causing Natasha to faulter.

"Are you ok? Is that someone you know?"

"I don't know," Clint replied wryly as his shoulder began to ache.

* * *

**Berman's Lair**

Berman watched in suspicion as Clint's body began to flinch at the onset of a memory.

_Barton sat in his perch overlooking Belvedere Castle. It was the one place in the park where he could see everything. Though it wasn't in his job description, Clint often enjoyed seeking out the petty thieves and violent offenders that frequented the park. He was just about to foil a pickpocket when the Jinn appeared, knocking him from his perch causing him to fall several feet into the gazebo._

_The Jinn disguised as a HYDRA agent ascended on him instantly, smiling as the archer struggled to his feet. Reaching for his bow, Clint set an arrow and drew back the string. He was just about to fire when the Jinn disappeared and reappeared behind him in the archer's form._

_Whirling around, Clint was face to face with his clone. Dedicated to firing, Clint shot the arrow hitting the clone just beneath the right shoulder. The clone smiled as the arrow struck the archer sending him withering to the ground._

_Clint Barton had just successfully shot himself._

_Kneeling, over the archer, the Jinn took great pleasure in pulling the arrow out before casting aside the quiver._


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for taking the time to review and add this story to your alerts! **

**Chapter 3**

Natasha shuddered at the thought of Clint taking one of his own arrows. She prayed it hadn't been the explosive type. Pushing the thought from her mind, she and Thor began to canvass the area until they found the discarded arrowhead that the Jinn had pulled from Clint's shoulder.

"I am sorry," Thor said noticing the change in her face.

"It doesn't mean he's dead." Natasha replied, hoping her voice didn't crack. Normally she was tough as nails, but this was Clint. She knew that when it came to him she wore her heart on her sleeve no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

Thor nodded solemn before noticing some odd colored ashes on the ground near the arrowhead. Kneeling, he pinched a small amount of the ash between his finger tips.

"There was a fire here recently."

"There was no fire," a female voice of Indian descent replied.

Thor and Natasha whirled around to find a young woman dressed in a blue sari standing behind them.

"The ash is from the flameless smoke of a Jinn."

"A Jinn?" Natasha repeated as the woman stepped closer.

"What is a Jinn?" Thor asked carefully.

Natasha looked back at him. "Jinn is the Islamic term for a genie; a supernatural spirit with the power to grant wishes. They are mentioned in Qur'an as spirits of free will. They have the power to travel to and from a parallel universe. "

"As they were granted the power of free will, they can be either good or evil," the woman in the sari answered.

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest eying the strange woman. "Forgive me for being so forward but how do you know Jinn was here. Did you see something?"

"I saw the Jinn attack the archer."

Natasha's piercing eyes narrowed. It was a well known fact that Jinn's were invisible to the human eye. They were only seen by those who were being granted wishes or stalked. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ava. I am a watcher." The woman replied, disappearing as Natasha began to step forward.

* * *

**S.H.I.E.L.D.**

"Uh, What?"

Steve looked dumbfounded as he tried the word Jinn on his tongue. Every moment he spent as an Avenger further convinced him that there was more to the world than what his old fashioned notions could comprehend.

"A Jinn, it's a genie." Tony returned. "You know like in the Disney movie Aladdin; Big blue Genie, grants three wishes…"

"Aladdin?" Steve questioned further perplexed.

"Forget him," Bruce added. "I think a better question is what would a Jinn want with Clint?"

"Vengeance," Natasha answered. Like the rest of them Clint had a lot of enemies and a Jinn would make the perfect weapon; an invisible being with the power to follow your every move without anyone being the wiser?

"But who?"

"That's what you have to find out. Preferably fast," Fury countered entering the room. "Not that I need to tell you this, but the lab confirmed that it was indeed Barton's blood on the quiver. So at the very least he's injured, if not dead."

Natasha felt her stomach knot at the thought of life without had been the whole reason she had defected to the States and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Against her will her heart began to hammer against her chest.

Tony leaned back in his chair. "Assuming that Barton is alive, how do we go about finding this Jinn?"

Bruce raised his hand. "It has to be summoned."

"And you know this how?" Tony returned with a hint of amusement.

"While I was in Calcutta I tried using a Jinn to help me rid the beast. Needless to say the beast vanquished it before I had time to ask for my wish."

"So, how do we summon it?" Natasha asked not willing to waste another second on idle discussion.

Bruce started to become a bit uneasy. "Well…you need a dark room and uh…candy."

"Sounds kinky," Tony quipped. "But I'm game."

* * *

**Berman's Lair**

Clint's eyes began to move rapidly beneath his closed lids.

Berman feared that the archer's training with S.H.E.I.L.D. may have made him immune to the Jinn's tricks. Whatever the reason it was clear to the doctor that Clint had made some sort of connection in the dream world.

Circling around the slab, Berman reached over and tore open Clint's vest to reveal a festering wound. Snapping his fingers, Berman summoned the Jinn.

"It appears Agent Barton is putting things together faster than we thought," Berman told the malicious spirit.

The Jinn looked down at the unconscious agent and began to inspect the shoulder wound. In the magical realm, wounds could act as a window to reality. What happened to the victim in the real world would eventually find its way to the dream world and vice-versa.

"Time to step it up a bit don't you think?"

The Jinn silently agreed and moved to the head of the slab, placing his fingers on either side of Clint's temples and in a flash the dream world changed.

* * *

**Dream World**

"Clint? I asked if you were alright?"

"I'm good," Clint tore his hand away from his aching shoulder as the fortune teller slipped inside a private tent.

"Well c'mon, we need to get eyes on the target," Dream Natasha prodded as the earth beneath them began to shake violently. Pandemonium erupted in time with the sky opening up and releasing a storm of fiery hailstones. One by one the hailstones fell igniting everything they touched.

"I think the target just found us!" Clint yelled reaching for where his quiver should have been. Huh? He was never without.

"We need to take cover!" Natasha shouted as she and Clint bolted out of the way of a falling beam.

"We're being attacked at both ends!" Clint returned latching onto her hand. Together they ran stumbling on the ground that was rumbling beneath their feet. Out in the open they were moving targets. In fact, it was if someone were aiming for them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Thanks to those who have added my story to your alerts. I'm not sure why but it seems to be falling flat in the review department. So if you're reading take a moment to drop me line, good bad, or otherwise. That way I'll know what I need to do to improve.

**Chapter 4**

**Dream World**

Clint began to think he was caught in a tilt-a-whirl. The ground was rumbling and his body was being thrown back and forth like a rag doll. All he could do was to keep moving in an effort to dodge the firestorm that was raining down upon them. He hated running. It was one thing to stand up and fight against the enemy but this time the enemy appeared to be Mother Nature. He didn't know who to fight. If they were fighting Mother Nature where the hell was Thor? It was almost laughable. No quiver, no team, just duck and cover. . In fact, Clint couldn't remember the last time he actually had to run from something. There was one thing certain he was definitely going to have a word with Fury about this when they got back.

He looked back just in time to see Natasha take a fiery pellet in the back of her left shoulder.

"Tasha!" It was if he were watching everything in slow motion as a second stone hit her in the back prompting her slender form to collapse to the Earth. Not caring about his own safety, Clint slid to her side. Instantly, he started to inspect the wound. It was bad, nothing but a big gaping hole surrounded by singed skin.

"Get…out…of here…" she managed with a quivering jaw.

"Not on your life," he whispered before hefting her into his arms. Carrying her was almost impossible. Not that Natasha was heavy by any means. It was the ground. It wouldn't stop moving. Clint flautered a couple of times before he spotted a nearby bunkhouse. It was empty. Once inside he laid her down on a thin mattress that by the looks of it belonged to a roustabout. He recognized the territory. At least the bunkhouse would provide them with temporary cover while he wrapped his head about the situation.

* * *

**Stark Tower**

Pepper Potts clenched her jaw as she, Bruce, Tony, and Natasha descended into the basement of Stark Tower. She wasn't exactly thrilled over the fact that Tony had offered the tower as the place to summon the Jinn.

"Why didn't you choose a cave or shut in?" she piped as the elevator came to a halt.

"We need a controlled environment," Tony took her hand in a gentlemen's fashion as they stepped off the car.

"What if it decides to stick around?"

"It won't," Bruce chimed in, "unless of course you withhold the sweets."

"Somehow I don't think that will be problem," Pepper returned revealing a huge silver platter that JARVIS had prepared filled with donuts, cookies, chocolates and assorted gourmet candies.

They then proceeded to prepare the ritualistic safety fence which would protect them from the Jinn should it decide to attack. With a few simple ingredients and the right words Bruce was able to form a protective blue barrier that would sheild them from any harm an angry spirit might want to cause. When summoning Jinns you never knew what you were going to get.

Lights off and incense lit, Bruce began the ritual he had performed in Calcutta, reciting an ancient incantation. For several minutes Natasha and the others waited in complete silence until they saw a flameless puff of smoke appear and materialize into the shape of a woman.

Pepper looked at Tony. From what she knew of them, Jinns were ugly creatures. The woman standing before them could hardly be called ugly; she was quite beautiful in fact. "I thought Jinn's were supposed to be rather hideous."

"Beats me," Tony replied reaching for a donut.

As the figure became corporeal, Natasha felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise. It was Ava, the woman, from the park. "You!" she hissed drawing her weapon.

"Put that away!" Bruce ordered. "Jinn's scare easily!"

"She knows what happened to Clint!" Natasha kept her weapon trained on the spirit. "Who are you?" she demanded as the spirit shed its human vessel and morphed into its true form; a tall, slender, bald creature with feminine features.

"Is that hideous enough for you?" Tony commented taking another bite of his donut.

"I am Ava. I have answered your call. If you so desire, I will tell you what I know of your friend."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Natasha growled.

"I am bound to grant you whatever you should desire. Unless, you try to cause harm to me or anger me I must perform your bidding."

Bruce leaned into Natasha, "you might want to put the gun down."

Skeptical, Natasha lowered her weapon and stated her wish. "I wish to see Agent Barton."

"Very well." Ava pushed her hands together and then slowly drew them a part, forming an oracle's sphere. The sphere served as a looking glass and right in the center of it was an image of Clint lying on the concrete slab, wrists bound and blood being drained from his system.

"Is he alive?" Tasha asked, not certain that she wanted to know the answer.

"He is still breathing, but the Jinn is draining the life from body."

"How do we get to him?" Bruce demanded, his own stomach turning at the thought of blood being drained from a healthy human being.

"You must wish for it."

Tasha opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Pepper.

"Wait, is it possible you could bring Agent Barton to us?"

"I am afraid not, "Ava replied. "I am forbidden to interfere with another Jinn's subject."

Natasha spoke calmly, "All right then, I wish for you to take me...us to Agent Barton."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I was so inspired by your comments that this chapter is extra long!. **

**Chapter 5**

"All of you?" The Jinn eyed Pepper. Not that it mattered to Ava, who went and who stayed but given the cast of characters Pepper appeared to be the only sane one in the group.

"No, just them." Pepper reached down and picked up Tony's suitcase. "You might need this."

"Don't know what I'd do without you," Tony grinned pecking her cheek. "Just don't eat all of the donuts while we're gone."

Satisfied with the pink flush tinting her face, Tony stepped up even with his friends. "Are we sure we just want to drop in unannounced?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Natasha clipped taking her place between Tony and Bruce. "We're ready. Now take us to Agent Barton."

"As you wish," Ava nodded and the room began to change. In seconds, Pepper's face became nothing but a blur as they were suddenly thrust into a dark, dank cave beneath the city. The walls of the cave were illuminated by burning torches and the air smelled of wet dirt and mud.

"Any guesses to where we are?" Bruce asked as the trio broke apart and began to explore their new surroundings.

"Hell?" Tony returned, earning an eye roll from Natasha. She didn't believe in the biblical underworld known as Hades. To Tasha, Hell was already a place on Earth. Lord knew she'd seen enough evil to last her a lifetime.

"My experience tells me this is a HYDRA safe house. Clint and I once infiltrated a safe house in the Ukraine. It was very similar to this one."

"That would explain why the homing device didn't pick up Clint's signal. We're too far underground to pick it up," Bruce added as Natasha drew her weapon. Cautiously, they began to make their way through a series of caves, each one leading them further beneath the ground.

It was quite. Too quiet for Tony's sake. If this was HYDRA where were their green costumed goons? And if they were holding Clint, where were the armed guards? Surely, they would not leave an Avenger alone? Even though Clint didn't possess superpowers, he was still a captive not to be taken lightly.

"Is it just me or does this feel like a trap?" The words had just tumbled from Tony's lips when they were met by one of HYDRA's pets, an enormous lizard creature with a thirst for blood. Reaching for her utility belt, Natasha pulled out a second gun and began simultaneously firing at the beast.

The creature grunted, as the bullets bounced off it's amor coated skin, like small pebbles.

"This might be a good time for you to open that suitcase!" Bruce shouted as the creature started to advance, pouncing at them.

"Natasha, get out the way!"

The super assassin dove head first into a somersault and then sprang back to her feet as the creature began to lunge toward Bruce.

"Bruce, try to stay calm!" She didn't want him to become the Hulk. If and when they found Clint he was going need Bruce Banner's medical's skills not some oversized green monster with an attitude.

"Yeah that might be kind of hard…" Bruce quipped diving in the opposite direction.

"What do you wanna bet this thing breaths fire?" Kneeling, Tony quickly worked the combination lock on the suitcase and flung it open. Within seconds the suit began to encase him in the iron armor that he had come to know and love.

"All right everyone step aside." Thrusting out his arm, Tony shot a beam of white heat at the beast hitting it square between the eyes. The beast screamed, only to retaliate with an inferno of flames shooting out from his mouth and nose.

"Was I wrong?"

"Just hold him, off!" Natasha ordered as she and Bruce started to crouch down the path. "Bruce and I are going to see if we can find Clint!" She needed to get Bruce out of there before the Hulk took over. Together they ran blindly though a maze of tunnels shooting at anything that stood in their way. HYDRA agents dressed in green jumpsuits appeared from nowhere but proved to be no match for Natasha as she took them out one by one, guns blazing.

"Stay behind me!" She told Bruce.

Bruce shook his head. "Yeah…Hulk doesn't really like that."

"Well, tell him he has to be patient!" Natasha spat as she checked the last HYDRA agent for a pulse. As luck would have it, he was still alive. Carefully she waited for his eyes to become small slivers. "Tell me where Agent Barton is or I will hunt down your family one by one and slaughter them like pigs!"

"They're already dead!" The agent spat, kneeing the Avenger and tossing her over his body.

That did it. Against his will, Bruce's eyes flashed green, clothing begin to tear and his body began to morph into the Hulk. Hulk then let out a menacing growl and tossed the HYDRA agent into the wall where the man crumpled to his death like a rag doll.

"Damn it, Bruce! I told you not to do that!" Natasha scolded as she picked herself up and dusted off her uniform.

Hulk merely hissed at her disapproval and started down the path in search of his fallen colleague.

* * *

**Dream World**

Clint wasn't sure how long the hail storm last or when the rumbling had stopped. All he was concerned with was Natasha. The burns on back were back. Third degree. And to make matters worse she was bleeding out. He had taken some of the bed sheets and torn them into strips for bandages. It wasn't enough but under the circumstance it was the best he could do.

"You…should go…" she whimpered as he turned her on side and started to clean the wounds.

"I already told you I'm not going anywhere." Gingerly, he patted the injured area and began to apply pressure."

"You.. have.. too…" She choked.

"Why? Are you afraid, I'll get squeamish?"

A sob escaped her lips. "I'm dying!"

One by one, unshed tears started to fill her eyes making him realize that she was serious.

"No one is going to die here today." He said, taking her hand. "Besides, you promised me in Budapest that you'd never leave me, remember?"

Pursing her lips, Natasha managed a nod through the pain. "That might not be a promise I can keep."

"You aren't leaving me, Nat and that's final."

And then it started again, a flaming hail stone, the size of a grapefruit crashed through window setting, the bunkhouse on fire. Doing the only thing he could Clint grabbed one of the bed sheets and started pummeling the flames to no avail.

Once he had the flames under control he looked back at Natasha to find that she had succumbed to unconsciousness. "Nat?"

Sliding back to the bed, Clint cradled his unconscious partner in her arms. "Please, don't leave me…Nat….please…don't…die."

* * *

**Berman's Lair**

Berman was monitoring the amount of blood in Clint's IV bag when he felt the ground begin to vibrate. He looked up just in time to see the Hulk enter his chamber, bearing his teeth.

"Who…who…are…you?" he shuddered right before the Hulk lunged, grabbing the hapless doctor by the collar. Berman's feet began to dangle as the Hulk lifted him from the ground and pinned him into the wall, roaring with anger.

"Do not kill him," Natasha ordered as she rounded the corner and set eyes on her captive partner.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Thank you again for the wonderful reveiws. Please keep them coming as they are motivation for me to continue. Even something something as simple as good job or update soon means alot!

* * *

Tasha felt her heart skip a beat as she moved closer to Clint. From what she could tell he was still breathing. Sinking down to the edge of the slab she checked for a pulse. It was there but it was thready. The thing that shook her the most however was his skin; it was deathly white from blood lose. Without forethought, Tasha reached up and pulled the IV port from his neck.

What did you do to him?" she demanded, willing herself to keep her composure.

"He's sleeping!" Berman retorted, earning himself the discomfort of the Hulk's hand wrapped around his windpipe. Hulk roared once again drowning out the doctor's gasps and pleas for air.

Calmly, Natasha rose to her feet and crossed over to the doctor. "I am going to ask again and if you do not give me the right answer I am going to let him kill you. What. Did. You. Do. To Agent Barton?

Berman knew the fate he would suffer at the hands of HYDRA as a traitor would be worse than any death the Hulk could deliver. So, he decided to have some fun with the red headed agent. "Ever read the book The Lovely Bones?"

Natasha's eyes narrowed as she refused to answer.

"He's stuck in the in-between!" Berman then began to laugh uproariously forcing Hulk's hand. "Go on do it!"

Having heard enough, Hulk jerked Berman away from the wall and hurled him into the monitors that were keeping Clint's vital signs.

Natasha sank back to Clint's side. "What do think he meant by the in-between?"

Hulk gave her a confused, forlorn look before feeling the need to morph. Silently, he retreated to the outer chamber and allowed Bruce Banner to reappear. A few moments later, Bruce returned wearing the uniform of one of the dead HYDRA agents.

"What did I miss?"

Natasha got up, "He said that Clint is stuck in the in-between."

"Limbo?" Bruce returned as he circled around the slab and began to perform triage on the fallen Avenger.

"Stuck between life and death?" Natasha felt her stomach lurch at the thought as she squeezed Clint's hand.

"He's not going to be stuck for very long if we don't do something fast." Death was already knocking at Clint's door and without proper medical equipment Bruce was powerless to stop it.

* * *

**Dream World**

Numb, Clint sat on the edge of the mattress next to Natasha's still form. For the moment, she was still with him but given their situation he had to wonder how long it would be before death claimed her. He needed to get her out of there he reasoned, wishing that his com link were operable. He couldn't understand why in the hell it was just buzzing static. Damn technology, he grunted as Natasha's fingers brushed against his hand.

"Tasha?" he questioned as she let out a weak mew in response.

"Hang on, Babe just hang on."

A sudden knock at the door followed by the door being kicked in tore Clint's attention away from Natasha as HYDRA Agents bearing weapons burst in with the Swordsman right behind them.

"Hello, Clint."

* * *

**Berman's Lair**

"Well, I see you found Bird Boy," Tony quipped raising the faceplate of his helmet. "Only he doesn't look so good."

"He's in a coma," Bruce replied. "We need to get him to a hospital quickly."

"Can you free him?" Natasha asked referring to the bonds that were holding Clint to the table.

Tony looked at the red glowing restraints that were encircled around Clint's wrists and wondered how there were going to move the archer. He was pretty certain that Iron Man could blast him free with the laser but he couldn't guarantee that Clint's wouldn't lose both hands in the process. But at the moment it was the only option they had.

"Stand back,"Tony lowered his faceplate as Natasha and Bruce moved away from the slab.

"Hopefully this will work the same way it did when Rhoady and I took out Ivan. If not, we might want to look into a pair of Bionic Arms." Extending his arm, Tony fired one white beam into the red glow before he felt himself fly backwards into the caves out chamber and into a wall.

It took Tony a couple of minutes to figure out he was laying in a pile of rubble. Shaking off the haze he pulled to his feet and walked back to his friends. "Does he still have his hands?"

Natasha was on her knees pressing Clint's hand between hers. Both restraints had successfully been broken, leaving behind two circular shaped burns around his wrists.

Hang on, Hawkeye. Just hang on.

* * *

**SHIELD**

_One hour later_

Steve and Bruce were seated in the waiting area while Natasha paced nervously outside the medical bay at SHIELD Headquarters. Each were absorbed with their own private thoughts about the archer. They all knew that Clint's brash attitude could make him a pain the ass at times but that never seemed to matter much. He was their marksman, the Golden Archer, of their team.

HYDRA was going to pay dearly for messing with them.

"Has there been any word from Tony and Thor?" Bruce asked Steve.

After making sure Clint was in good hands, Tony and Thor had returned to the HYDRA safe house with orders from Fury to destroy it. Fury wanted to send a clear message to HYDRA that they were now and forever on his shit list.

"They're headed back now." Steve supplied.

"What is taking so long?" Natasha hissed softly as she stopped pacing just long enough to gaze through the glass window that lead to the area where Clint was being treated.

"It's only been an hour," Bruce reminded explaining that patching up the shoulder wound would take at least that long. On top of that Clint also needed blood and lots of it.

"This shouldn't have happened to him." Natasha said with a hitch in her voice.

"This should happen to no one," Fury returned appearing from the inside of the medical bay. "I've just finished speaking with our doctors. Bruce, you were right. Agent Barton is indeed in coma and to make matters worse, Clint was shot by one of his own arrows so that HYDRA could begin cloning his DNA!"

"Why would HYDRA want to clone Clint? They already have Bullseye." It was known fact that Bullseye's marksmanship was almost as accurate as Clint's. The only difference being Bullseye was considerably less intelligent and hot headed.

"My guess is that Barton was the tip of the iceberg. Being that Natasha and Clint are both one hundred percent human their DNA would be easier to duplicate than either of yours. Start easy and then work your way up to the top."

"Meaning they intended to come after all of us?" Steve asked.

Fury's one good eye grew wide. "Can you imagine two Thors or worse two Hulks? We can't even control the one we have!"

"May I see Agent Barton, Sir?" Natasha asked changing the subject.

Fury nodded in response. "Go right ahead, Agent Romanoff, just don't make it too personal."

"Understood, Sir."

* * *

Alone in the medical bay with Clint, Natasha sat in the bedside chair holding his hand. After a while her fingers start to drift to his cheek where she outlined the stubble on his face. It was a good two days worth at least. Far be it however for Clint to worry about shaving. Finally, she worked her way down to his lips; they were soft but slightly chapped, making her remember what they felt like next to her skin. At the moment she couldn't give a rip about making it personal. That's what Fury didn't understand. She owed him a debt of course it was going to be personal.

"You have to wake up." She whispered as the machine monitoring Clint's heart rate began to beep wildly.

* * *

**Dream World**

"Jacques," Clint returned calling the Swordsman by his first name. "I wish I could say it's nice to see you again but we both know that wouldn't be true."

"Tisk, Tisk, always a pessimist," Jacques quipped as the HYDRA team parted forming an even path for the Swordsman to enter the room. "Tell me, something Clint. Are you still just second best?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Dream World**

"Jacques," Clint returned calling the Swordsman by his first name. "I wish I could say it's nice to see you again but we both know that wouldn't be true."

"Tisk, Tisk, always a pessimist," Jacques quipped as the HYDRA team parted forming an even path for the Swordsman to enter the room. "Tell me, something Clint. Are you still just second best?"

Clint felt the burn of the Swordsman's words hit him right at his core. The entire time Jacques had been his mentor, Clint had continuously fallen short of the man's expectations. Jacques was always stronger, faster and more accurate. Initially, Clint felt inferior until he learned the man's true intentions.

Averting his eyes Clint scanned the room for anything he might be able to use as a weapon. A Hoodlum tactical knife with a four inch blade laid on a makeshift nightstand just a few cots over. If he could get to it they might have a fighting chance. Then there was also Natasha's utility belt. Normally he wasn't a fan of guns but in this case he was more than willing to make an exception.

"Still a fan of mind games, Jacques?"

The Swordsman smiled an evil grin and then ordered his henchman to attack. "Take Them!"

Doing the only thing he could, Clint reached for Natasha's service revolver and fired until he emptied her clip, successfully taking out several HYDRA agents. But it wasn't enough they were still advancing with guns blazing.

Knowing, he had to protect Nat, Clint dove for the knife taking a bullet in the right of side of his abdomen. Ignoring the wound, Clint grabbed the knife and hurled it straight into a man's chest, leaving just one HYDRA Agent and the Swordsman standing.

"BRAVO!" the Swordsman jeered clapping his hands. "Too bad it isn't enough."

The Swordsman paused for a moment boring his eyes right into Clint's.

'Kill the girl!"

"No!" Clint sprang back upright earning the blunt the end of an assault rifle to the side of his head. The last sound he heard before succumbing to darkness was the bullet being fired into his partner's chest.

* * *

**SHIELD**

Natasha's eyes went wide with horror as blood suddenly began to bloom from Clint's abdomen and right temple region. He was bleeding? How was that possible? The in-between. Poking her head out the door, Natasha called for assistance. Within seconds two SHIELD doctors where attending to Clint's new wounds.

Slowly, Natasha started to back out of the room, nearly colliding with Fury, Bruce and Steve.

"What happened?" Fury demanded.

"I'm not exactly sure. Something attacked him."

"Something attacked him?" Fury repeated. "Agent Romanoff tell me how is that possible since you were the only person in that room?"

"Berman's Jinn," Natasha swallowed. "He said that Clint was stuck in the in-between. If that's true then something attacked him on the other side."

"The other side?" Fury repeated in disbelief.

"Limbo or a dream realm," Bruce clarified.

Fury's eye shifted. "Are you telling me that Agent Barton is stuck in sort of dream?"

"We believe so," Bruce said softly realizing how incredulous it all sounded. "Folklore suggests that Jinn's have the power to trap their victims in an alternative universe based on their dreams and fears."

"So, how do we get him out?"

"Ava," both agents said together.

Upon hearing Bruce's call Ava appeared to them instantly. "How may I serve you?"

"We need to know if Dr. Berman was telling the truth when he said Agent Barton was stuck in some sort of in-between."

"It is absolutely true. Dr. Berman asked his Jinn to send Agent Barton to the Dream World. Jinn's often use this world to control their victims while they perform rituals in the real world."

"Where is the Jinn?" Steve asked. It stood to reason that if could find the Jinn and stop the ritual that the dream world would cease to exist.

"I do not know," Ava responded, "He has cloaked himself from me. Most likely he is somewhere in the dream realm overseeing the torture of your friend. "

"So if we can't find the Jinn how do we get Clint out?"

"The only way for Agent Barton to return is to defeat his fear and break the hold that the Jinn has over him."

"Can you grant me a wish?" Natasha asked the wheels of her mind turning. What if she could go to Clint?

"Most certainly," Ava returned instructing that this would be the last wish that could she grant for them.

"I want you to send me into Agent Barton's dream."

Ava pursed her lips in doubt. "That is only possible if the two of you share a very powerful connection." The type of connection required was the connection that was usually reserved for lovers or twins, mothers and children. If not, Natasha would be stuck in her own private limbo.

"We do," Natasha replied with conviction.

"You must understand that I cannot guarantee that you will be able to return. This dream realm was designed specifically for Agent Barton, not for you."

"That's a chance I am willing to take." Natasha returned earning the eyes of all of her colleagues.

Ten minutes later, Natasha was laying on hospital gurney beside Clint. An IV port leading to a powerful sedative was inserted into her left hand.

"You don't have to do this," Fury told her fearful of the fact that he now risked losing two of his best agents.

"I owe him," Natasha said quietly, "Besides we both know he would do the same for me."

Fury could only manage a slight nod as Natasha turned her attention to Ava.

"What about my weapons?"

"Whatever you have on your person will travel with you." Ava said as Natasha directed Steve to go to the armory and retrieve Clint's extra quiver and bow. It stood to reason that since Clint's quiver was left behind he was unarmed.

When Steve returned he placed the quiver and bow at Natasha's side. I'm ready now." Natasha told Ava as tucking Clint's paraphernalia under her arm.

"Take his hand," Ava ordered.

As directed Natasha reached over and grabbed Clint's hand and closed her eyes signaling Bruce to allow the sedative to run free through the assassin's veins.

Fury watched pensively as he and the others stood around the two unconscious agents. "I sure to hell hope that she knows what she is doing." He grumbled fearfully.

* * *

**Dream World**

When Natasha opened her eyes she found herself crouched on the ground in the middle of a fiery hailstorm. Small pellets of fire were all around her. Gazing around, she reached for Clint's quiver and bow. They were lying just a few feet from her. Ava had been right; the weapons had travelled well she thought as a large flaming stone landed next to her foot. She needed to move she reasoned taking off in a dead run for nearby cover underneath a set of covered picnic tables. Safe under the canopy, Natasha began to survey her new surroundings. She was certain that she had been to this place before and not in a good way.

Then she saw the sign: Carson Carnival of Travelling Wonders

"Clint… What have you gotten yourself into?"

**A/N**: I would have thought the correct title for the circus should have been Carson's Carnival but the Marvel site has it listed as Carson.


	8. Chapter 8

**C****hapter 8**

**S.H.I.E.L.D.**

Pepper Potts stood in the medical bay watching the two sleeping agents. When Tony had called her with an update she begged him to allow her to watch over them. She hadn't even batted an eye when Tony had told her that he would need to blindfold her as to not disclose SHIELD's secret location: an opportunity that he had fully taken advantage of by teasing Pepper unmercifully.

"You're terrible, I thought I was going to vomit all over with you with all of those swan dives." Pepper hissed as Tony snaked his hands around her petite waist.

"You can vomit on Iron Man anytime," he teased nuzzling her neck. "With that said, I am very glad that you are here. I think Clint and Natasha could use a cheerleader right about now."

'Do you think she'll find him?" Pepper asked leaning into his chest.

"If anyone can it's Natasha."

"Do you think they're in love?" Pepper lifted her chin stealing a kiss.

Tony took a moment relishing the feel of her lips against his. "I don't know but they do have something." Like the others, Tony suspected that the two assassins' shared some sort of bond. Whether it was actually love or not was hard to tell given the fact that they were both trained not to allow personal emotions cloud their judgment of the job.

"I think that Natasha's plight to save him is just about the most romantic thing I have seen," Pepper purred.

'I don't know if I'd exactly call it romantic. I'd go myself but she just happened to volunteer first…"

Pepper glared at him. "You're saying you're so deeply connected to Clint that you would actually be able to enter his dream?"

Tony shrugged modestly. "Well you know I find the whole Robin Hood act of his is..."

"You're unbelievable," Pepper quipped giving him an eye roll before turning her attention back to Natasha and Clint.

* * *

**Dream World**

The Jinn stood in the center of midway sniffing the air. Someone uninvited had entered his realm. Powerful and Female. Must move quickly he grunted. Barton would have to die by nightfall.

* * *

When Clint awoke he found his arms chained above his head and his body dangling from the ceiling of large animal cage. Someone had also removed the black t-shirt he had been wearing leaving his chest exposed. The bullet wound in his side had been sloppily stitched just enough to keep him alive. Not that this surprised him, given the fact that he was back at the circus, but it did make him wonder the purpose.

Head pounding, Clint tried to recall how he got there. Then he remembered. A HYDRA agent had shot him and killed Natasha. Shifting his gaze, Clint saw her lifeless body on the concrete just outside the cage.

"Nat?"

"Nat, please wake up!" he begged.

"NATASHA!" he yelled struggling against the only he could get free. Then he could he could find a way to bring her back.

"ARGH!" Clint continued to fight until the burn marks around his wrists became bloody. The thought of tearing his arm off crossed his mind. There was no way he was getting out of there otherwise. Without his quiver and vest he was helpless.

"Tasha!" his voiced cracked.

"Tasha, please..."

Clint hung his head If Tasha was gone he had no reason to go on living, other than the fact he needed to avenge her. Tasha would do the same for him he reasoned blinking away moisture from his eyes.

The door to the cage opened and The Swordsman appeared with a shorter man dressed in a ringmaster's suit and carrying a bullwhip.

"It's nice to see you awake, Clinton." The Swordsman quipped as he circled around the captive agent. "I trust you are aware of your partner's fate?" A pregnant pause lapsed between them as the villain waited for Clint's reaction.

Although it sounded cliché, Clint forced himself to say the iconic phrase. "I'm going to kill you!"

"I seriously doubt that considering you tried once before and failed," The Swordsman reminded, "In fact as I recall I was the one who nearly killed you and now because of your incompetence, your sweet, beautiful, partner is dead."

Rage coursing through him, Clint began to buck wildly lashing out at the Swordsman the only way he could. Kicking, he managed to strike his ex-mentor square in the jaw, sending him to the ground. He was about to strike again when he felt the lash of the bullwhip slap across his lower back.

"ARGH!"

Wiping blood away from his mouth, the Swordsman signaled the ringmaster to continue. Just as swiftly as the first another lash landed across Clint's back, drawing blood.

"You need to learn some manners! You ungrateful son of a bitch! I thought you everything you know and you turned on me!"

As the Swordsman circled back around, Clint twisted his body so that he was facing his arch nemesis. "You were stealing from Carson!"

"And you were supposed to go along with me!" The Swordsman snatched the whip from the Ringmaster and began to deliver his own blows, this time striking the archer dead center across the left side of his cheek.

Unconsciously Clint winced as the lashes continued, leaving his body nothing but a broken and bloody mess. Clint wasn't sure exactly how many he had received but it somewhere close to thirty or so by the time he passed out.

* * *

**S.H.E.I.L.D.**

"Tony! Tony!"

Pepper's screams sent the Iron Man and the other Avengers racing into the medical bay.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Clint," Pepper sobbed, pointing.

Helpless, Tony and the others could only watch as the lash mark after lash mark began to appear in various places all over Clint's torso, leaving his skin in shreds.

"How's Romanoff?" Tony asked pulling Pepper into his chest so that she was shielded from the gruesome sight.

"She's fine, not a mark on her," Steve replied.

"Then my guess is that she hasn't found him yet."

Quickly, Tony ushered Pepper from the room and forced her to sit in a chair that was out of sight from the window. He then walked over to the vending machine and retrieved a bottle of water.

"Drink this," he said kneeling before her. He waited for a moment gauging her emotions.

"What happened in there?"

"It's the Jinn. He's attacking Clint from the other side." Tony explained taking her hand into his.

Pepper took another sip of the water, "That's awful."

Tony agreed silently not certain of how much more Clint could take before his body completely gave out. For his sake, Natasha needed to find him fast.

* * *

Natasha entered the bunkhouse with her weapon trained. Clint's quiver and bow were slung over her shoulder in marksmen like fashion. Finding the sea of dead HYDRA Agents she said a quite prayer, thankful that Clint wasn't among them. Turning on one heel she headed back out into the firestorm unaware that the Jinn was waiting for her.

Crossing through the midway, Natasha saw the form of a small whimpering child; a little girl with auburn pigtails holding a doll.

Mindful that she was in dream Natasha approached the child with caution. It was a known fact that children made Clint uneasy so it only made sense to her that the child was a rouse. The Jinn must have planted her there to try and appeal to Natasha's human instincts.

Keeping her weapon raised, Natasha circled the child until she felt the need to pull her out of the firestorm. Rouse or not, Natasha couldn't fathom the thought of leaving the small being to die. She had done that once before when she had let the orphanage burn; the images of the orphan's faces were forever engraved in her mind. Uncertainly and anxiety began to plaque her as the memory was brought front and center to her mind.

"You aren't real." She told the child reminding herself that she, Clint and the Jinn were the only real players in this dream.

"Help me!" the child pleaded.

Gazing straight down at the child, Natasha spoke with conviction. "YOU ARE NOT REAL!"

_Poof!_ The child disappeared into a puff of smoke leaving half a dozen HYDRA agents in her place.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Special thanks to Dancing Eyes for suggesting I include more of Nat's backstory. All references are courtesy of the origin of Black Widow at Marvel. And thank you all for the wonderful reviews. FYI I suck at action/fight scenes. I'm more of angst, hurt, drama person. **

**Chapter 9**

Nat debated for a moment. Could she just send them away? Probably not. Given the severity of Clint's injuries, they indeed were very real as were the guns. She knew she could take out 3 maybe 4 if she double barreled it but that almost seemed like too much work.

So she decided to make it easy. Reaching into her utility belt, she pulled out a grenade and immediately pulled the pin, and pitched it into the sextet before diving out of the way.

"Tell Baron Von Strucker, I said hi!"

Burning debris peppered her body as she landed in the dirt face first. Thankfully she had the cover of an old oak to aid her against the fiery hail. Her ears rang unmercifully for several minutes while she attempted to pull herself together.

Keep moving, just keep moving she willed despite her spinning head. She needed to find Clint. He's the only one who could end this.

She had taken just a few steps when the girl appeared to her again; this time as an older teenager with long flowing red hair. The teen was now a full fledged killer and graduate of the notorious Red Room Academy. This was the version of herself Natasha hated the most. No soul. No conscience. Just a cold blooded killer, who thoroughly enjoyed her job.

Natasha shuddered as the faces of her victims came front and center to her mind. This is Clint's dream she reminded herself. What she was seeing was just a vision of a recollection that she had shared with him.

"I am not that person anymore," she proclaimed as the young killer lunged at her dealing a swift kick aimed at Natasha's jaw. Recognizing the move, Natasha caught the teen by the foot and knocked her on her ass.

Angry, the teen spun around kicking Natasha's feet out from under her and then quickly sprang back to her feet.

Natasha retaliated with a back walk over and then flew into a series of mixed martial arts moves, attacking the teen from all angles. The teen got off a few good moves of her own, cracking one of Natasha's ribs. But eventually the matured assassin prevailed with a knife straight through the heart.

Breathing hard, Natasha held her injured side as she gazed down at the dead teen. Things could have really turned out that way she thought recalling how reckless and immature she had been.

"You don't exist anymore."

"But I do," a forgotten voice replied.

Shocked, Natasha whirled around to see a man she once knew standing before her. A young handsome, KGB agent named Alexei Shostakov. Natasha had met Alexei right before she had finished her studies at the Red Room. At the time Alexei was working under the guise as a pilot with the Russian Army. Young and naïve, she had fallen for him immediately. The two shared a whirlwind romance and were married shortly after her 18th birthday. Two years later the KGB orchestrated Alexei's death in hopes of controlling Natasha. Believing her husband dead, Natasha fell deeper into their clutches killing out of sheer rage and earning herself the title of super assassin. It wasn't until she met Clint that her grief for Alexei began to diminish.

"Hello, My Beautiful," Alexei greeted in a thick Russian accent.

A flood of emotions filled Natasha's chest. She had forgotten she had told Clint about Alexei. Now the Jinn was going to use it against her.

"You're dead!" she said eyeing the handsome agent heatedly.

Alexei again smiled. "Quite the contrary, I am alive and well working for the KGB or didn't your friend, Hawkeye tell you? He and I had a meeting about a year or so back. Good man he is, but not good enough for you."

Natasha felt a stab at her heart. Instantly she felt betrayed. Clint knew Alexei was alive and didn't tell her?

_Focus_ she reminded herself. _This isn't reality_.

"I don't have time for you right now," Natasha replied, praying that the image would not try to harm her.

"Perhaps then when you wake up," Alexei grinned leaning in for a kiss. "I'll be waiting."

Tears pricked Natasha's eyes as the image disappeared. She then looked heavenward, "Clint, when you wake up we are going to talk." She needed to know if Alexei was speaking the truth and if he was she was going to kick Clint's ass. But in order to that she had to save him first.

Weapon in hand she ran across the compound, checking every room in every building until she came across the ringmaster's tent. Keeping her weapon in check she moved stealthy inside on the concrete, stopping every few seconds to canvass the area. Nothing but rows and rows of animal cages.

And then she saw him.

"Clint!"

Natasha entered the cage, calling the archer's name. No response. Was he still alive? Clint's chin was resting against his chest, eyes closed.

Taking a moment Natasha inspected the severity of his wounds; His left eye was swollen shut from where the lash had struck his face. The rest of his back and torso were nothing but a mess of blood and raw skin, save for the bullet wound in his side. She had to wonder how it was that he was still breathing.

"Clint? Clint?" she called softly taking his battered face into his hands. Reaching into her hair Natasha pulled out a specially designed bobbie pin and used it to pick the lock on the chains that held her partner bound. Once he was free, Clint was dead weight in her arms, causing them both to sink to the concrete floor.

"It's okay, Clint. I'm here," Natasha said, stroking his blood sodden hair.

Clint opened his right eye looking at her through a bloody haze. "Tasha?" he swallowed weakly.

"Were you expecting somebody else?" she smiled.

Becoming coherent Clint stiffened in her arms, pushing himself into a crab crawl "Who are you?" he demanded shoving away from the assassin.

"Who am I?" Natasha repeated confused. "Clint, it's me, Natasha."

"Natasha is dead!" he said pointedly looking to the fallen image.

Natasha followed his gaze setting her sites on the dead body. The Jinn had obviously found a way to shape shift into her likeness. She could definitely see why Clint had been so shaken. She could imagine how she would react if the roles were reversed. Tenderly, she took his hand, "Clint, that's not me. I'm here and I'm real."

"No," he swallowed retracting his hand. "I saw her die…"

Natasha pushed to her knees making her way to him. "It's a trick. The Jinn only wants you to believe it's me."

Clint's face went all screwy. "A what?"

"A Jinn," She repeated knowing that as ludicrous as it sounded they both had seen enough things on the job for him to believe in the possibility. "This is all dream. We're both stuck inside your head."

"You're lying!" Clint choked delirious with pain and exhaustion.

"Listen to me!" Nat demanded grabbing his shoulders. "This is all an allusion. Carson Carnival World of Wonders no longer exists you know that!"

"The Swordsman…"

"Is not real!" Natasha finished. "The Jinn wants you to believe he's the Swordsman. HYDRA is behind all of this!"

"HYDRA?"

"Yes, they got to you. They're inside your head."

"But I-"

"Don't have time to argue. You and I will both die if we don't get out of here!"

Reaching behind her, she handed Clint his quiver and his bow. "Now, let's get a move on," She said pulling to her feet and offering him a hand up.

Clint looked at her hand for a moment before consenting to take it. What choice did he have? Trap or not it wasn't like he was just going to wait around for the Swordsman to come back.

After the archer was on his feet, Nat wrapped an arm around his torso for support.

Unconsciously, he let out a hiss where her hands had touched his raw skin.

"Sorry…" she apologized masking her own pain as she felt the full force of Clint's weight come down on her cracked rib. They had just made their way out of the cage when the Swordsman and the Ringmaster appeared.

"Well, well who do we have here? Could it the departed Agent Romanoff or is she just another illusion? Nothing is real here you know. It's all in your imagination."

Clint shifted his eyes to Natasha.

"Just trust me."

Moving away from the archer, Natasha reached for her service weapon and fired one round point blank into the Swordsman's chest.

Flinching, the Swordsman laughed before changing into his true form: Jinn.

"Believe me now?" She quipped holstering her weapon.

Clint could nod as the Jinn filled the room with thick black smoke in an effort to conceal himself. Now that he'd been exposed all Barton needed to do was get off one good shot and the dream world would cease to exist.

That couldn't happen. Perhaps he could take out the archer's shooting arm?

When the smoke cleared, Clint Barton was staring at an exact likeness of himself. The Jinn was dressed in typical Hawkeye style complete with the trademark black and purple vest and quiver.

"Uh…Nat. How do I wake up from this dream?"

"You have to kill him," She supplied.

"Of course," Clint mocked as an arrow from the Jinn's bow came flying right at them.

"Watch Out!" Lunging at her partner, Natasha felt the tip of the arrow graze her bicep as she pushed him out of the way.

"NAT!"

"I'm okay," Natasha replied pressing a hand to her injured arm.

"Not for long!" the Jinn bellowed. Waving his arm, he sent Natasha whirling backwards through a wall. An instant later, she was sailing through an open portal and straight back to reality.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**S.H.I.E.L.D.**

Natasha woke up with a start, her heart hammering in her chest. She was back in the medical bay of SHIELD. Her head spun as she sat up and looked at her partner.

"Damn it!" she swore, keeping her hand pressed to her arm as hopped off the gurney.

"What happened?" Steve asked catching her elbow as she started to waver from the effects of the sedative and cracked rib.

"The Jinn sent me back." She said making her way over to Clint. "FIGHT HIM!" she yelled as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

"Nat?" This time Steve grabbed her by the waist, forcing her to stay upright.

"I'm fine," She said with a hitch, pulling free of his grasp. Holding onto the railing she circled the bed until she came to the IV pole. Gazing upward, she saw that there were two bags feeding into Clint's medicine port; one was an antibiotic and the other was for pain. Reaching up, Natasha clamped off the line to the morphine drip.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked wide eyed.

"He's fighting for his life. His mind needs to be clear." She told Steve as a pinched expression started to cross Clint's forehead. It wasn't that she wanted to cause him pain. She wanted clarity. She would deal with the fall out of his pain when he returned.

Grasping the railing Natasha leaned forward speaking softly but with conviction. "C'mon Clint you can do this. Don't wuss out on me now. This is not the way you want to die. Show him who you are!

* * *

**Dream World**

"Agent Romanoff is never coming back. She wasn't real! Another illusion I created so you could watch her die all over again!" The Jinn shouldered another arrow and took aim.

Taking in a cleansing breath, Clint closed his eyes, shouldering his own arrow.

"There's no place like home…There's no place like home," he chanted inwardly as drew back the string and let the arrow fly in sync with the Jinn. Real or not the trust he had in Natasha extended beyond the conscience world.

Simultaneously, two explosive arrows flew straight at each other, their precision so exact that a head on collision was unavoidable. Tip to tip, they collided igniting an explosion that started a ripple effect of heat incinerating everything in its path.

Clint heard the Jinn scream before the wave of heat struck him, completely engulfing every part of his being.

He had seen people burned alive. He'd even been burned in explosions that he had caused but nothing compared to this. Flames were all over him.

And then BOOM!

* * *

**S.H.I.E.L.D**

Clint's eyes popped open and instantly he was hit with a tidal wave of pain. The pain was so intense that he couldn't breathe. HE COULDN'T BREATHE! Panic started to flood him as people started to crowd around; Doctors, nurses, Fury, Tony, Thor, Steve, Bruce and Nat.

Blinking, he tried to use Nat's face as a focal point but she seemed so far away. Was she real? Was the nightmare finally over?

Nat started yelling at him to focus and to stay with her but something was pulling him back. His eyes felt so heavy and he blinked. DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES! Nat shouted at him. He wanted to listen to her, he really did but the pull to slip back into darkness was so strong.

Damn if only he could breathe!

Blood drained.

Shot twice.

Whipped within inches of his life.

It was more than his body could physically take.

His eyes closed and again he heard Nat scream at him.

What was happening?

She had said all he needed to do was defeat the Jinn.

In the distance he heard the continuous bleep of the heart monitor and suddenly someone was pushing on his chest. A mask was placed over his face.

* * *

Alarms continued to sound as the medical team worked feverishly over their patient. Despite their efforts, Clint's body was refusing to stabilize.

"What's happening?" Natasha's voiced cracked but she didn't care. All she knew was that Clint was back for a second and now he was gone. What had gone wrong?

She could only watch as one doctor began CPR and while another applied a clear gel to the cold hard paddles that would send electrical charges straight into Clint's heart.

Bruce was pulling on her shoulders, coaxing her to leave. But she couldn't move. She couldn't leave Clint.

Clint wouldn't leave her. Not like this…not now…there was so much that she still had say…that they had to do… She closed her eyes and listened to the doctor count backwards.

3…2…1…CLEAR!

Unconsciously, every fiber of her being went taut as the electrical charges were shot through his chest. They had been through so much together for it to end this way. This wasn't like anything Natasha had ever imagined.

"Please," she prayed silently before the sound of normal sinus rhythm filled the room.

"Thank you," she breathed looking heavenward before fixating her eyes on Clint's tired looking slate colored irises.

* * *

**24 Hours Later...**

Natasha stretched out gingerly in the twin sized hospital bed spooned up against Clint. "How are you feeling?" she asked running her fingers through his sandy colored hair.

Clint lowered his gaze to where she was snuggled against him, "Considerably better now that you've let me have some drugs."

"I had to be sure you were able to fight the Jinn." She whispered looking up at him with her piercing blue eyes.

Pulling her in close, Clint kissed the top of her head. "I guess, I really can call you the woman of my dreams."

"Ugh, that's a disturbing thought," she lied resting her head on his chest, mindful of his wounds.

Clint dipped his index finger under her chin, lifting it. "Seriously, I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"You'd do the same for me."

"God, I'd hate to stuck inside your head," he quipped before turning serious. "With that being said, I don't ever want to see a bullet in it again either."

Natasha sat up, "Listen to me. The Jinn was messing with your head. It was a dream! She wasn't me." Although Natasha had to admit seeing herself dead was more than unnerving. It was something she only thought about in her nightmares.

"But I thought she was-"

She saw the pain in his face. "I'm so sorry, Clint."

"Do you remember what it was like when we lost Phil?"

"Yeah…" Natasha said, fearful he was going to spill everything in his heart. As much as she loved him that was just something that she wasn't ready to do.

"That was nothing compared to the thought of losing you. I-"

Natasha silenced him by pressing a finger to his slack lips. "Need to stop this, or I will make you stop."

Clint took her hand, "How ya gonna do that exactly?"

"Remember Budapest?" she said with a naughty grin.

"I remember Budapest," he replied with a satisfied smile of his own. "I remember that you almost cost us both our jobs and Fury-"

"Let us off with a warning," Natasha retorted caressing his cheek.

"He's going to be pissed if he finds you here."

So? What's the worst he can do?"

"What's the worst he can do?" Clint laughed. "He can send one of us to Siberia."

"We're World Class assassins," Natasha reminded him. "He needs us."

"I need us," Clint sighed as she slid back down on his chest.

"Me too," She whispered drawing circles on his chest.

* * *

Outside, Pepper stood at the observation widow, a glass of white wine in her hand.

"Still think they're not in love?" she asked Tony.

Tony took her glass and toasted the cozy looking assassins. "I think I'm going to plead the fifth."

_Fin! Again, thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I truly appreaciate each and every one of you! PS, I'm thinknig of doing a story based on Clint knowing Natasha's husband is still alive. It wouldn't necessarily be connected to this story. Thoughts and suggestions are welcome! _


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